Washington expects Belarus to allow Freedom Day celebrations in Minsk

According to the statement of Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau at the U.S. Department of State George Kent that he made in an interview with TUT.by, Washington is monitoring whether the Belarusian authorities will allow Freedom Day to be celebrated in Minsk. Mr Kent came to our country on an official visit. He recalled that the United States supports the independence and sovereignty of Belarus, appreciates its contribution to regional security and is looking forward to expanding cooperation in areas where the interests of Washington and Minsk coincide.

“We partially suspended the sanctions after the Belarusian authorities released six political prisoners in August 2015,” said the State Department representative. “In October 2018, the US extended the temporary suspension of sanctions against nine Belarusian companies not for six months, as was done earlier, but for twelve. At the same time, many factors were taken into account including the “positive attitude of the Belarusian authorities towards the freedom of assembly during the past year.” George Kent referred to the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic.

Last year a rally and a concert took place near the Opera amd Ballet Theater in Minsk. This year, the organizers wanted to hold them at the Dynamo stadium. However, answering the question of Euroradio during the "Big Talk", Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that the event at the Dynamo stadium would not be allowed. A few days later, the Minsk authorities submitted a new application.

"Permission to hold such an event ... will be regarded as the next step forward," said the representative of the US State Department.